60% of employees want the option to return to the workplace

Survey was conducted amongst Irish users of recruitment site Jobs.ie

Majority of employees want to continue working remotely or split their time between home and the office when businesses return on September 13. Picture: iStock

A new survey reveals 60% of employees want the option to return to their place of work either on a full or part-time basis.

The survey by online recruitment site Jobs.ie revealed that almost half of employees (49%) want the option to have a mixture of working from home and the workplace. A further 11% of workers reported a desire to return to the workplace full-time.

Almost 3,800 users responded to the survey which was carried out between July and August 2020.

Two in five (40%) said they would like to continue working from home full time.

According to the research, workers are least looking forward to the return of the daily commute (35%), while 13 per cent noted they are not looking forward to using public transport.

Although many businesses were forced to operate remotely under lockdown, the research revealed that almost 60 per cent of employees must return to their place of work full time when it reopens.

Following the survey’s findings, Jobs.ie’s General Manager, Christopher Paye, said the question now is whether working from home will become a part of everyday work life.

“For many businesses in Ireland, Covid-19 has made working from home the new normal – even for those who didn’t think it would be possible.

“For employees who may have been on the fence about it before, it has brought positive benefits such as reduced commute time, or in some cases, the ability to work flexible hours.” Mr Paye said the site’s findings suggest that there is a demand among workers for more flexibility in the working day and employers should consider when implementing return to work policies.

“While some sectors will inevitably require teams to return to the premises, others will find that there is room for flexibility."

“Where possible, employers should look to incorporate this into their HR policies to ensure that employees feel safe and secure in their return to the workplace,” he said.